Lost and Found (ONC2024)✅

Chapter 8

Jude

Percy and I returned to the living room to get to work. 'Work' meant something different to Percy. I had so much shit to do, I didn't want to waste time calling my mother. The pain of her most recent abandonment still lingered, making it impossible for me to forgive her. She'd abandoned me dozens of times before, but this last time was the worst. Percy insisted we 'have to try' to get her to talk.

Percy had used the law firm's investigative databases to find my mother's number. Sitting beside me on the couch, he made the call on my phone.

"You speak," Percy said as the phone rang. I hadn't spoken to her since the day of the accident. She completely cut me off, blocked my number, and moved away. Recognizing my number, she answered the phone, but she didn't wait for me to speak.

"Never ever call this number again," she said and hung up. Percy didn't hesitate and immediately called her back. It didn't surprise me that the phone went to voicemail. Percy left a message.

"Hello, Ms. Hills, my name is Attorney Alonzo Richler and I'm here with your son, Judah Prak. I just have a few questions for you about the car accident of February 2023. Please return my call at your earliest convenience. If I don't hear from you within forty-eight hours, I will ask a judge to issue a subpoena. Thank you very much for your cooperation."

Dumbfounded, I stared at him in awe. He had bigger balls than I ever imagined.

He shrugged, tossing my phone on the couch between us. "You acted like my attorney," I said as if he didn't already know that.

"I never said I was your attorney. She'll call back."

And he was right. Within ten minutes, my phone rang. Percy answered it, "Attorney Alonzo Richler. How may I help you?"

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice filled with paranoia. "How'd you get my number? Am I on speakerphone?"

"Yes, you are on speakerphone and I'm here with your son."

"If Judah's in trouble, keep me out of it. He's a grown man and can take care of himself."
Anger filled my veins, remembering all the times she screwed me over.

"Actually, Mom, I'm sick," I said, unsure how to describe my affliction. If I described it to anyone, they'd say I was just psychotic. "Something happened after the accident. The ambulance took me to a hospital and someone injected me with a virus or something. The name of the hospital is blacked out in the police report. I need to find the doctor who did this to me and you're the only one who knows where the ambulance took me. Why the hell did you leave the scene of the accident? You left me for dead."

"They promised they wouldn't hurt you," she said.

"Who's 'they?'" I asked.

"I can't say. I've already said too much. Please don't call me anymore. I hope everything turns out okay for you. I had to do what I had to do."

"I don't get it. What did you have to do? I'm gonna die. Don't hang up. Don't—"

But she didn't listen to my pleas. The bitch hung up.

"She doesn't care if I die," I said, fighting back my tears. Percy called her back, but she blocked my number. As I curled up on the couch, sobbing, he called her again using his phone, but again she didn't answer, probably realizing it was Attorney Alonzo.

"I'm sorry," Percy said, rubbing my leg. I kicked his hand away. "I bet she signed a non-disclosure agreement."

"She doesn't care if I die. No one will miss me if I'm gone. I'm a perfect lab rat."